Laurie Spiegel

looking at experimental digital audio artists and I come across Laurie Spiegel, very interesting, slightly melodic electronica. Just the sort of thing I like, not too ‘out’ there with some nice progressive sounds throughout her work.

I discovered that she is credited for this piece in the Hunger Games- which I watched very recently and although the film was a disappointment after enjoying the books, this piece from the sound track is great and perfectly fit the tense, otherworldly slightly out of body experience that was occurring on screen at the time.

Listening again and knowing the part of the book it was used for, it does enhance the feel of being placed in an alien and hostile environment, the high rippling single metallic tone, which changes from industrial to pure throughout the piece, and the fairly linear focussed quality along with the long low drawn out bell ‘gong’ sound gives a haunting audioscape. This is in the scene where the kids are first introduced to the killing zone with its cornucopia in the centre, which is a huge industrial metallic looking object rather than a beautifully naturally formed living shell.

I find I can read all of this in the sound produced by Laurie Spiegel, and it makes it a little bit of a revelation how much can be said just through an ambient soundscape.